PC Engine Review: Yu Yu Hakusho
Publisher: Banpresto
Genre: FPS/Fighting
Game Type: PCE Super CD

When I put in Yu Yu Hakusho, I didn't know quite what to expect. I knew it was an anime (which I've never seen), and that it was some sort of fighting game. I had assumed that it would be yet another 2D Street Fighteresque game. But I'm happy to say that I was severely mistaken!

Yu Yu Hakusho takes a quite unique view of the fighting game! Your battles are all fought from a first person perspective. What I really felt more than anything is that I was playing a perfect meld of a fighting game and a gun game. The animation is skillfully done, and is very high quality for the system, and everything is very fluid. I was especially impressed with the FPS camera, which moves VERY fast and had no lag at all.

Essentially, each character has the power to fire 2 different types of energy blasts (single and concentrated) at the opponent, who runs, jumps and dodges their way around the screen. As the camera moves, it appears as though your character is chasing them around the battlefield, and you have to time your shots to catch the before they dodge, duck, roll, or jump around. And the enemies are FAST! I could barely keep up with them, and they fire multiple shots at once.

The only gripe I had with Yu Yu Hashuko, and it's not much of one, is that there is no gun attachment for the PC Engine (that I know of). The game uses a cursor, which although VERY fast and accurate, just isn't quite as good as a light gun would be. Of course, I'm biased cause I love good light gun games.

There are 5 main characters in Yu Yu Hakusho: Yuusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, Kurama, and Hiei. Each has a slightly different attack as well as seemingly well-acted spoken dialogue (which I can't understand since I don't speak Japanese). I didn't get too far in this game, as I didn't have a lot of time to spend playing it, so I didn't find out if there were any hidden characters or bosses, but it's quite fun to play. The speed adds a great extra edge of excitement.

I'd have to say that Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most unique and surprising fighting games I've played in quite a while, and I'd recommend it to fighting and light gun fans alike!

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